Monday, December 23, 2013

The Return of European Fascism

Distrust
of the government, xenophobia, racism and a weak economy. That may sound like
Germany after World War II, but it describes many European countries today. For
the 60 years after the war, Western Europe embraced liberal forms of
government. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe drifted
toward a democratic, capitalist society similar to those in the West. Bow
economic hardship is changing that.

Once small, fringe movements, the far Right and Left have grown in popularity
with the increasingly disenchanted youth. Political parties such as the
National Democratic Party of Germany, the Freedom Party of Austria, the
National Front (France) and the Golden Dawn Party (Greece) have risen to
influence, especially in countries with parliamentary and proportional
representation. Though none call themselves fascist, they support platforms
sharing qualities with Mussolini and Hitler. These parties often espouse
stricter immigration laws, zero-tolerance policies, protectionism,
anti-Islamism, anti-Semitism and nationalism.

The country whose move towards fascism is receiving the most media attention is
Russia. Under Vladimir Putin the country has become militaristic, aggressively
seeking to expand its influence. The most obvious attempt was their invasion of
Georgia, a former Soviet republic, in the mid-2000s. Though they’ve done so in
a more clandestine way through their increased political influence of the
Eastern European countries. Russia has placed many restrictions on the press,
increasingly militarized itself, hounds gays and Jews, and is becoming
extremely nationalistic.

The reasons Italy, Germany, and Austria became fascist before World War II are
eerily similar to Europe today. Europe has a declining economy, with the
financial and political elites becoming increasingly distanced from the people,
causing anger and distrust of the establishment.

It is unlikely that Europe will swing completely fascist. There would be no
true dictator as that wouldn't go with the people. Most likely, some states
will embrace a form of quasi-fascism in which there would be would be
protectionism, corporatism, less privatization, and prohibitions against
foreigners buying land. There would be a large increase of power in the armed
forces and intelligence sectors. The media would be highly regulated.
Xenophobia would become policy.

To prevent the European shift towards fascism there would need to be major
improvements to the economy. When people are prosperous, the establishment
receives more support from the public. America and Canada can encourage this by
decreasing tariffs on European goods and creating free-trade deals with the
European Union. Increasing trade could be the best way to prevent another
nightmare.